Improvement in military drums



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN DERMOND, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT IN MILITARY DRUMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,570, dated February 3, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN DERMOND, of Louisville, in the county of J efferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Military Drums and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of t1e same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, making a partof this specication, in which- Figurel is a perspective view of my invention Fig. 2, a vertical section of a portion of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in military, side, or small drums 5 and it consists in constructing the drum in such a manner that its head and reverse may be braced 7 separately, or independently of each other, thereby preventing the reverse, which is the head not beaten upon and which is generally formed of inferior material, from being unduly strained, a contingency which is liable to occur in drums of ordinary construction in bracing the head proper, in consequence ofone bracing-cord being connected to both bracing-hoops, thereby causing both the head and the reverse to be braced simultaneously, and the latter to be unduly strained or stretched before the former is brought to a proper degree of tension to insure a good or perfect tone.

The invention further consists in a novel manner of applying the cords to the bracinghoops, whereby the former are kept free from or not permitted to be in contact with the heads, and the latter thereby, as well as the cords, prevented from being injured by abrasion.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the cylinder, which constitutes the body of the drum. This cylinder may be constructed in the usual way, of either wood or metal.

B represents ahoop, which is attached centrally to the cylinder A, and has holes a bored through it at equal distances apart and parallel with the axis of the cylinder A.

C represents the head proper ofthe drum, and

D the reverse or snare-head, 7 as it is frequently termed. The head and reverse are made and constructed in the usual way and are attached at their edges to rings or bands b, of wood, which encompass the cylinder A, and are allowed to slide upon it.

E E represent the two bracing-hoops, which are fitted on the ends of the cylinder A, over the heads C D, and at the outer sides of the rings or bands b. These bracing-hoops E E have holes c bored through them parallel, or nearly so, with the axis ofthe cylinder A, and through these holes c in the bracinghoops and the holes a in the hoop B, cords F F are passed, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. These cords F F are each provided with sliders or braces d, which are constructed and applied to the cords in the usual way. By shoving the sliders or braces d toward the hoop B, the bracing-hoops E E will be drawn inward on the cylinder A, and also the rings or bands b, and the heads G D properly strained or stretched.

From the above description it will be seen that the hoop B admits of two cords, F, being used one for each head O D-and consequently each head may be stretched or braced, 7 as it is technically termed, independently of the other. This is the chief or principal feature of the invention. The reverse, or snare-head D, is most generally constructed of sheep-skin, and will not admit of as much stretching as the head C, which is constructed of calf-skin, and which, by my invention, may be stretched or braced to a proper degree of tension to insure a perfect tone without at all interfering with the stretching or bracing of the snarehead.

In consequence of having the holes o in the bracing-hoops bored edgewise through them, the bracing-cords F F are kept free from the heads, and the latter cannot be injured by abrasion, a contingency liable to occur in drums of ordinary construction, where the cord passes transversely through the bracing-hoops, and is thereby brought in contact with the skins or heads at the inner sides of the bracing-hoops.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The hoop B, attached centrally to the cylinder A, in combination with the two braoabout at the centers of the bracing-hoops, as

ing-cords F F and the two bracing-hoops E and for the purpose set forth.

E, all arranged substantially as shown to form an improved military or side drum. 7 JOHN DERMOND 2. Making or boring the oord-holes c in the Witnesses:

bracing-hoops E E in a direction parallel, or JAS. P. ARNOLD,

nearly so, with the axis of the cylinder A, and IRA L. DERMOND. 

